John Sloan, One of These May Vote in New York State, Which Is It?
One of These May Vote in New York State, Which Is It?, 1911, produced for the New York Call John Sloan (1871–1951) Ink on paper 8 × 12 7/16 in. (20.3 × 31.6 cm) Delaware Art Museum, Gift of Helen Farr Sloan, 2000
Sloan's 1911 drawing One of These May Vote in New York State, Which Is It? plainly expresses his belief that women should be granted the vote. The two bodies of the figures are rendered identically, with fig leaves hiding their genitalia, making it clear that the differences between men and women are not so great that women should be treated as second-class citizens.
In a diary entry dated August 3, 1911, Sloan included sketch of a fig leaf with the inscription “This seems to be the real qualification!! of a voter!,” indicating that he was working on the final composition of One of These May Vote in New York State, Which Is It?. Created for the socialist publication The Call, One of These never appeared in its pages, perhaps due to its frankness and nudity.
